Roll With the Changes
by OrsonWells
Summary: A fun little idea I had... one-shot for now. Shenny as always. Enjoy.


**Keep on Rolling...**

* * *

It all started as Penny was sitting in the living room of 4A. Everyone was sitting around eating dinner, watching a random reality show on and tv and chatting. She was seated to the right of Sheldon in the chair. Amy was next to him, Bernadette was next to her. Everyone else was scattered around in chairs and Leonard was sitting next to her.

It was an odd feeling, a feeling of doom and worry, she'd had it before, but ever since she started taking those meds it had calmed a bit. So she was shocked when the feeling washed over her.

She wasn't happy.

She glanced at him, he had his takeout container resting on his knee, and he had the look of absolute boredom on his face. He had been beat down and dragged out; he never engaged much in group conversations. No longer any of his comments or even snippy tone. No he'd just sit and nod and "yes, dear." his girlfriend.

Penny hated it, but she kept it to herself.

But the feeling wouldn't leave, even as she smiled when Leonard nudged her. What was wrong with her?

Sheldon stood up and went to the kitchen to throw his container away and get some water, she watched him move, slow and the force he used to throw the container away was more then needed. She figured he was just making an excuse to get away from the current topic of conversation, which now as Penny was focusing on it... She didn't want to be involved anymore either. Something about monkeys and their sex life... No doubt Amy's contribution.

Penny stood up, Leonard asked her where she was going, "to get some water." Came her reply. She rolled her eyes when her back was turned to him.

He'd been doing that a lot. Like she felt like the only time he wasn't there was when she was at work. And even then he'd text constantly, didn't he work?

Penny tossed her own half eaten food away and leaned against the counter, she crossed her arms over her chest as she observed Sheldon. "Trying to get away from the monkey sex talk?" She asked, humor in her tone.

Sheldon glanced at her, "it's rude to tell people to stop talking... Or so I've been told by Amy." was his only reply and he was back to looking through the selection is teas he had.

Penny sighed, "if you could go anywhere in the world... Where would you go?" She asked suddenly. Why not? She felt like she hadn't talked to the man in months... At least alone.

Sheldon let out a breath. "Switzerland... And yes it's to see the Large Hadron Collider." He found a tea he liked and then mimicked her leaning position as he waited for his tea pot to boil.

Penny saw that he looked... Well he looked sad. Like she did when she wasn't plastering the smile on her face.

"That's right, you never got to go." Penny frowned a little. That had been her fault.

"Yes, while it was your fault… I did spend Valentine's Day with an aesthetically pleasing female for the first time in my life." He sort of murmured it... Looked down at his shoes.

Penny smiled, "I would go to Australia." Penny said instead of lingering on his compliment.

"Ah yes... Did you know that right now, while its summer here, it's winter there?" He asked as he leaned towards her, he seemed a little excited to talk to her about these facts.

She did know this, she knew so much about the place... But she shook her head no and let him continue.

"Also, Australia is an amazing continent from an evolutionary stand point!" His eyebrows when up excitedly.

Penny smiled; "of course you'd be excited about the science." she smiled lightly at him, his eyes looked bright. "I've been thinking a lot about where I want to travel..."

"Southeast Asia would be an interesting place to visit, Japan, because of their contributions to science and also the world of video games and other pop culture... I guess since Europe is relatively small one could go to many places there..." Sheldon was thinking. "Sad I was too young to travel away from Germany... Although I did explore the city some... You'd like it." He wasn't looking at her as he spoke. His ears had picked up the pot about to steam and so he turned back to it to pour water into his mug.

"Tea?" He asked after he'd opened the cabinet to pull a mug out for her.

"Thank you." Penny whispered. "You could visit the oldest university in the world... That would be neat." Penny said as she took the offered mug of tea.

"Ah yes! That would be the University of Karueein, founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco. The University of Bologna, Italy, was founded in 1088 and is the oldest one in Europe." He said it fondly. He turned back to her and leaned against the fridge which put him closer to Penny as he spoke. "What would be your reasons to travel?" He asked.

"Oh gosh, the history of each city... The culture... Yes the shopping" she gave a teasing eye roll at his little scoff. "They have cute shoes over there." Penny defended.

"Hey what are you two whispering about?" Leonard's whiny voice dropped the room into silence.

Sheldon and Penny stepped back, neither realizing they were whispering.

Penny sighed and walked back to the group, the foreboding doom feeling coming back.

"About where we'd like to travel." Penny finally said. She glanced at Sheldon who had followed her back, he looked almost displeased that she was sharing this with everyone.

"Oh... Tahiti... The beach... Romantic walks and room service." Leonard said with a wink.

Penny smiled slightly and had to sip her tea to not grimace.

"Oh yeah! That's one of the most romantic locations!" Howard said.

"Tahiti also has monkeys... So much research possibilities." Amy said with a grin. Well as much as a grin as the chick could muster.

Penny winced at that. She had issues with Amy's research. Poor primates.

"Amy... I don't think you're allowed to experiment on the wild primate population." That was Sheldon. He glanced at her before going back to his tea.

Penny felt the shift. This always happened. Every Time Sheldon opened his mouth in a negative way, Amy would get upset, the group would get uncomfortable and everyone would leave. The next day things would be great because Amy told Sheldon what he could and couldn't do.

Penny wanted to nip it in the bud. "Australia would be amazing!" She said it excited and looking around.

That seemed to ease everyone back into the conversation. But Sheldon had shut down. He was just holding his tea. He was tired.

Penny looked at him, she felt the feeling overcome her and she glanced down at her tea... She could see where this tea came from... He'd explain it to her of course. He'd be able to read all the signs in German... He'd probably smile.

* * *

"We should talk more about traveling." Leonard said later that night as they got ready for bed.

Penny looked over at him from over her shoulder, "I mean sure..." Penny said. She didn't care. He'd just want to go somewhere where they could stay trapped in their room all week. She didn't want that.

"I mean imagine like a week away from work, no bills... No Sheldon!" He laughed at that.

Penny glanced back at her phone; she was sending a little text. She sent it after he made that comment. She got under the covers and told him she was tired when he tried to move closer.

 _I'm feeling crazy... Having crazy thoughts. Can we talk tomorrow? – Queen P._

* * *

She was pacing back and forth. She wasn't sure why she was being so covert. It was just Sheldon. But they hadn't met up alone in literal months. She hoped he did come alone.

She turned her back and when she went to pace again she ran into the flash symbol.

Sheldon's arms were around her for a moment to stop them both from falling. "I was being chased by a dog..." Was all he said as she stepped back and looked him over. He was out of breath and looked a little stressed.

"Sorry... Why were you... Never mind." Penny shook her head and gently took the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him to a bench. "I'm glad you came." Penny said with a smile.

"Well... It was hard to explain to Amy why I wanted to go for a walk... But I was able to get away." Sheldon said with a nod.

Penny could relate. Leonard had been hell bent on going with her; she finally had to say that she just wanted to walk for a bit, nothing special. She slipped out when he got a phone call from Caltech about a laser issue.

"How much vacation time do you have saved up?" Penny asked suddenly.

Sheldon didn't even hesitate. "Enough to go on a 6 month sabbatical... Why?"

Penny smiled. "And your share of the rent and bills... All automatically paid?" She asked.

"Yes, taken out of my account on time every month." He gave a little proud nod.

"I may need your help with that." Penny said with a little nod. Although she could cancel her cable and water and electric wouldn't be used at all.

"What's this about? Sheldon asked.

"Okay so I've got about two months saved up of vacation, after that I guess I'll just quit my job... Which is fine! I have a lot in my 401k that I didn't know existed until last year when you pointed it out to me and also my savings have been awesome since we didn't do the wedding!" Penny said all excited and at once.

"Penny, what's... What are you talking about?" Sheldon asked.

Penny realized she had jumped the gun. "I'm going to do something really stupid, I'm going to travel the world, probably lose all my money and I don't care. I can't live like this anymore." Penny finally confessed.

Sheldon furrowed his brow, "why are you telling me this?" He asked.

"Because I wanted you to come with me... You're not happy." Penny whispered.

Sheldon stood up, "I really wish that you wouldn't assume!" He was getting defensive and angry. Not what Penny had expected at all. "If you wish to be a crazy traveling hippie then be my guest. But you'll be doing it alone." Sheldon said.

"Sheldon... I'm... Look. Don't tell anyone." She finally decided on. She stood up and stepped closer.

Sheldon sighed, "I won't... It won't ever come up so I won't have to lie." He replied.

Penny nodded. Both of their phones ringed at the same time and both looked viably annoyed because they knew who was calling.

* * *

Penny didn't talk to Sheldon about it again. She didn't bring it up. She didn't even mention it to Leonard. She didn't want to. She knew it was cowardly but she didn't want to.

It was two weeks later... She'd been distant and no one really seemed to care. But she'd been planning and prepping, reevaluating so much, making sure, weighing the pros and cons of doing this.

She'd said she was sick and stayed behind as everyone went to a Caltech function.

She'd leave tonight.

She was mostly sad because she'd seen everyone off and Sheldon hadn't looked at her or said anything. She'd miss him.

Penny finished packing her things. It was an overnight bag, her passport, other important documents. Her phone... She sighed. She was scared but she had to do this. She picked up her phone and sent a text.

* * *

Sheldon was sitting and listening to the conversations around him. He knew she was leaving tonight. He wasn't as stupid as some thought, he's seen it in her, and tonight would be a perfect night to slip out.. He hated the feeling in his chest. Hated that he didn't know when he'd see her again. But he couldn't leave not this... Whatever it was.

And then Leonard made a crack at him, the group laughed, a comment was made about Penny that bothered him a little. The group laughed. Amy wouldn't let go of his arm... Leonard expressed concern over a male coworker Penny worked with. He was teased about his work and then...

A text came in and Sheldon checked his phone, it was a liters smiley face and the words

 _gonna miss you – Queen P._

Sheldon shot up from his seat. It startled the table, startled the few around them.

"You okay buddy?" Leonard asked.

"Sheldon glanced at him. "I feel, ill... I'm going home." He turned to leave. Amy went to follow. Sheldon stopped her. "Please stay... I'll be fine; I'll catch an Uber or something." Sheldon backed away... She didn't follow and he quickly made his escape.

He did take an Uber.

He felt dread fill him as he got closer to their apartment, what if she'd gone already. He hadn't texted her back. Fear that she'd be on her way and he didn't want to her feel guilty.

He ran up the steps and nearly burst into 4A. It was dark and he didn't care and he ran back to his room and ripped off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. He pulled his go-bag out and tossed it on the bed, he slipped out of his dress shoes and into his normal pair. He checked his bag and he had the essentials in it, he tossed in a couple of neatly folded shirts, his favorite ones. He stopped for a moment and breathed out. What was he doing?

His stuff. His things, his collectibles… He quickly wrote a note to Raj... he could trust that man with his things, stuffed it in an envelope and then zipped up his bag.

He knew he had probably missed her, he didn't know if she would be at an airport or the bus... He sighed and marched out of the bedroom.

He nearly had a heart attack.

"Penny!?" Sheldon said as he fell back a little.

"Hey Moonpie..." Penny smiled sweetly at him from his spot on the couch.

"You haven't left yet?" He asked... Did she change her mind?

"I was waiting for you." She said simply.

Sheldon's shoulders sagged he felt relief. He looked around the dark living room. "I'll have to get the money out of my hiding places." Sheldon said as he walked past her and started to go through all his hiding places.

Penny stood and followed behind him as he handed her wads of cash.

"We're really going to do this?" She asked.

"What modes of transportation will we be taking?" He asked.

Penny thought about it. "Well my plan had been to take a bus to Vegas and then after that I was going to bus through the country to New York. Enjoy that city for a few nights before jumping on a plane to Europe... England first, Chunnel over to France... Go crazy after that." Penny said.

"Vegas is a smart plan. We can triple our money... I'm glad I'm going. You attempting to count cards would end dreadfully." Sheldon said with a light chuckle. "We should fly out of Vegas to NYC... Middle America isn't that exciting." Sheldon replied... He'd know. He had traveled it via train a couple of years ago.

Penny looked at him; she walked up and wrapped her arms around him, her warm cheek cooled on his crisp dress shirt. "You're such a nutty guy." Penny whispered.

"Thank you?" Sheldon asked. He returned the hug. His arms warm. He shut his eyes and sighed. "We're doing this?" She nodded.

They left a note, two of them. Letting them all know. Apologizing. but also not really.

* * *

Penny ended up sitting next to Sheldon on the greyhound to Vegas; he still hadn't changed from his dress shirt, lost the tie, dress pants were still on. But he had on his jacket. Penny was resting against his shoulder. He'd fallen asleep as it was past midnight. They turned off their phones already. They'd turn them on when they got to NYC. Or maybe in France. She wasn't sure.

She did have her iPod on... She had her headphones in and started to play REO Speedwagon. She'd make Sheldon listen to one song in particular later on.

* * *

 **A/N: Someone stop me from writing so many fics... this idea popped into my head this morning, I like the idea of Sheldon and Penny running away and being dreamers together. I may add on but i'll see.**

 **Thanks for reading! you all are awesome and I do it for you!**

 **Also that song is boss so...**


End file.
